Secondary Menu

Raspberry Pi - Plex Media Server

Introduction: Raspberry Pi - Plex Media Server

The Raspberry Pi is a small piece of development hardware that runs various different operating systems and has a large number of GPIO pins that make building DIY projects with the raspberry pi possible. The raspberry pi has different versions of boards available. For this tutorial we will be using the Raspberry Pi 3 (It has onboard WiFi and lot more), you could also do the same on a Raspberry Pi 2.

For this instructable I will be showing you how to set up a media center on the Raspberry Pi to stream content to different devices. For the media center we will be using Plex which is a popular software and different devices for playback.

Step 1: Tools and Components

For this instructable you will need

Raspberry Pi 3 (You could also use Pi 2)

HDD

MicroUSB

5V 2A Power supply

Step 2: Connecting to Internet

Before we get started using Plex we need to connect the Pi to the internet and enable ssh (Optional). To connect the Pi to the internet I would recommend using Ethernet over the onboard WiFi, this would give better streaming experience while steaming in HD.

The Raspberry Pi OS is stored on a micro SD card, you need to install Rapsbian for this tutorial.

To enable ssh you will need a mouse, a keyboard and a HDMI monitor. Connect all the devices to the Pi and power it on. Then enable it in settings under interfacing.

Step 3: Installing Plex

First lets start of buy updating the Pi to the latest repositories, you can do so by typing in the below commands.

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y

Next lets install a HTTPS transport package for using HTTPS

sudo apt-get install apt-transport-https -y --force-yes

To install Plex you will an software download key we will use wget to access it.

Step 4: Installing Plex Part 2

Now that you have added Plex to the raspbian repositories you can install it using

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install -t jessie plexmediaserver -y

This would take a few minutes, so grab a cup off coffee while you wait.

Once you go Plex installed reboot your pi by typing in

sudo reboot

Once the Pi is booted up use the below command to note the IP address of your pi

hostname -i

Now visit the URL to access Plex

<your pi ip>:32400/web

Step 5: Going Further

Once you have got Plex installed you need to add in some media content to stream, I connected an external HDD to the PI via USB port. You could do the same or you could get a sata to USB converter and use a internal HDD instead.

Now you can add media content on to your drive and Plex updates each time it scans for any new content.

Epilog Challenge 9

Paper Contest 2018

Pocket-Sized Contest

Tips

Questions

3 Comments

Hi I have tried installing following the instructions and when I get to the stage sudo apt install Jesse plexmediaserver I get the following error codeThe value Jessie is invalid for APT::Default release as such a release is not available in resourcesHelp me please Obiwan !!